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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

GUEST ANALYSIS: Maryland Lawmakers Who Are Out of Step With Their Voters // PLUS: Baltimore Election Results Mapped

UPDATE:Delegate Galen Clagett sent us a response to the post below, where he explains that though he voted against final passage of the Dream Act, his objection was to any bills that required money that year. See his message below:

DELEGATE GALEN CLAGETT: Dear Juice, I wanted to respond to your posting on December 12 regarding Md lawmakers being perceived as "out of step" with their voters. I saw my name listed as voting against the Dream Act and wanted to clarify something not contained within a simple accounting of votes, that is, a fiscal note.

To be sure, I supported this important legislation when it came before the House previously (and had no fiscal note), I also voted for it as a citizen in November. However, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I was unwilling to vote for any legislation this year that contained a fiscal note given our current budget situation. As you probably know, sometimes it is not the issue itself but the collateral impact thereof (esp. when it concerns the state budget) that determines how we have to vote.

I am proud to be know as a moderate Democrat and I work very hard to make sure that I represent my constituency in 3A when in Annapolis. As anything, numbers have stories, and those stories provide a great deal more information and perspective than the numbers alone. I would hope that you and your readers keep that in mind when reviewing actions taken during Session.

Sincerely,

Delegate Galen R. Clagett, 3A

Two Maryland Juice sources forwarded us worthwhile items about our state's recent Presidential Election results. The first tidbit is about Maryland lawmakers who may be out of touch with their voters, while the second discussion item is a series of maps depicting how voters in various parts of Baltimore voted in the November elections. We highlight a few of the interesting results below.

JUICE #1: POLITICIANS WHO MAY BE MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN THE VOTERS IN THEIR DISTRICT - An anonymous Maryland Juice source forwarded us a list of lawmakers who may be out of touch with their constituents. In particular, they sent us a spreadsheet of election results highlighting politicians who voted against the Dream Act and/or
marriage equality, but who represent districts where a majority of voters supported either
Question 4 or Question 6. In other words, these politicians may represent districts
where the voters are more liberal than the elected officials. For at least some of these officials, these misfires might serve as warning signs that a challenge in a party primary could be more fruitful than they realize. Do elections have consequences?

POLITICIANS WHO OPPOSED THE DREAM ACT BUT WERE OVERRULED BY THEIR BOSSES (AKA THE VOTERS) - The two lists below show politicians who may be out-of-step with their districts. In particular, these politicians voted against the Dream Act but represent districts where a majority of voters voted "for" Question 4 at election day precincts. In short, these politicians misfired on one of the hottest issues in state and national politics this cycle. The Democratic Dream Act opponents below live in districts where voters supported in-state tuition for all Maryland students:

These Republicans live in districts where voters supported the Dream Act:

Del. Sue Aumann - ( also voted against marriage equality )

Del. Gail Bates - ( also voted against marriage equality )

Del. Bill Frank - ( also voted against marriage equality )

Del. Ron George - ( also voted against marriage equality )

Del. Patrick Hogan - ( also voted against marriage equality )

Del. Herb McMillan - ( also voted against marriage equality )

Del. Warren Miller - ( also voted against marriage equality )

POLITICIANS WHO OPPOSED MARRIAGE EQUALITY BUT WERE OVERRULED BY THEIR BOSSES (AKA THE VOTERS)
- The two lists below show politicians who may be out-of-step with
their districts. In particular, these politicians voted against marriage equality but represent districts where a majority of voters voted "for"
Question 6 at election day precincts. These politicians are not keeping up with their constituents on a major civil rights issue. The Democratic marriage equality opponents below live in districts
where voters supported same-sex marriage rights:

Sen. John Astle - [ Democrat]

Del. Sam Arora - [ Democrat]

Del. Talmadge Branch - [ Democrat]

Del. Steven Deboy - [ Democrat] - (also voted against Dream Act)

Del. Cheryl Glenn - [ Democrat]

Del. Melvin Stukes - [ Democrat]

These Republicans live in districts where voters supported marriage equality:

Sen. Ed Reilly - ( also voted against Dream Act )

Del. Gail Bates - ( also voted against Dream Act )

Del. Ron George - ( also voted against Dream Act )

Del. Michael Hough - ( also voted against Dream Act )

Del. Tony McConkey - ( also voted against Dream Act )

Del. Herb McMillan - ( also voted against Dream Act )

Del. Warren Miller - ( also voted against Dream Act )

Del. Kathy Vitale - ( also voted against Dream Act )

JUICE #2: SEN. BILL FERGUSON'S MAPS OF BALTIMORE ELECTION RESULTS - The
second politico tidbit is that State Senator Bill Ferguson of Baltimore
City has an interesting new series of maps on his website. Visitors can
look at how different neighborhoods of voters in Baltimore weighed in on various ballot items, but we highlight a few interesting examples below:

MD Juice News Feed:

This blog predates my campaign committee and is substantially unrelated to electioneering, but just in case, you can consider certain posts "By Authority: Friends of David Moon. Chair: Marlana Valdez. Treasurer: Usman Ahmed."